


Do you believe in ghost stories?

by PastelHanzo



Category: Call of Cthulhu (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Eldritch, Inaccurate Catholicism, Lovecraftian, Multi, catholic written by a pagan, innacurate nun depiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:33:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28419168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelHanzo/pseuds/PastelHanzo
Summary: In-Character notes for our Call of Cthulhu game from the perspective of Mother Rosemary of the Sisters of Saint Raphael, Arkham, MassachusettsContains spoilers for the following Pre-written adventures:The Dead Lights, Blackwater Creek, Saturnine Chalice, The Necropolis, What's in the Cellar, The Dead Boarder, The Mansion of Madness
Kudos: 1





	1. The Dead Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second interaction with a creature of wickedness, the first being irrelevant to the updating of Father Thomas, due to his experience in Peru.

As following with the wishes of Father Thomas, residing in Arkham, Massachusetts, here follows the accounts of our dealings with the abominations and creatures that plague this realm, as written by Sister Rosemary of the Sisters of Saint Raphael, Arkham, Massachusetts. What is written between these covers may seem bizarre and haunted, but as upon my oaths, I write only the truth of what happened to myself and my companions.

As of the writing of this passage, those travelling in my company are Doctor Davy of the Chemistry department of Miskatonic University, Mister Elliot Samuel of the Archaeology department of Miskatonic University, and our third companion, Mister Clifford Underwood of Arkham, was behind in Ross's Corners, Massachusetts to help with the repair of our new property, and was thus not present for the Sin-Eater incident.

* * *

Myself, Davy, and Samuel (who was driving) had been making our journey from Ross's Corners back to Arkham in the midst of a rather frightful storm, through a road we were non too familiar with, when we first met Emelia Webb, who at the time was in the centre of the road, drenched from tip to toe, and looking spooked. Samuel managed to not collide with her, and we were able to soothe her enough to get her into the warmth of our car. She was dangerously cold and unresponsive when we first picked her up, but in the time it took us to get to the closest Truck Stop, to shelter from the dangerous roads, she had warmed slightly from the coats of myself and Samuel. From her physical condition, she appeared to have been in a fight, and it was in our best interest to get this woman somewhere warm and dry.

The Orchard Run truck stop had a haphazardly placed truck before it, possibly swerved due to the storm, and visibly the telephone line was down, which meant we were unlikely to be calling anyone for assistance or forwarning of our impending late return to Arkham. Inside were five people, an elderly couple called Winnifred and Teddy Brewer, the truck stop owner Sam Keelham, the owner of the swerved truck Jake Burns, and the waitress Mary Laker. Taking Emilia to a booth to calm her down and warm her up, she revealed that there had been a break-in at her Grandfather's home - Greenapple Acre Cottage - and she feared for his safety from the masked burglars. With the realisation something may be amiss, due to our recent encounter with a Lurker (as Father Thomas called it), we wished to be sure that there was nothing supernatural occurring up at the home of the former Doctor Webb. While the storm was getting worse, it felt too dangerous to take the car, so we made the trek up to Greenapple Acre Cottage. It was at this point Samuel revealed to us that the elderly Brewer couple had been turned to ash by a blinding light.

The house itself showed signs of forced entry almost immediately, and we began our search for Webb in his bedroom and study, the two places we considered to be the most likely places to find him. In his room we only found a Bible, a pocket sized one at that, with an inscription reading 'May God have mercy upon the physician'. This did not fill us with hope for his likelihood of survival. In his study, we found $600 dollars in cash (Which has since been put toward the renovation of the Merriweather Farmhouse), a bank note from Arkham First Bank for an account of $19000, a funny smelling wax ointment, a leather bound notebook on a creature called the 'Sin-Eater' that consumed unborn children, and a list of dates, which corresponded with a death. 

We eventually made our way to the reception room, which upon the door's opening, Mister Samuel was hit with a round from a shotgun, courtesy of a man named Billy, who had been cowering in the room after the deaths inside. Once I had firmly encouraged Billy to help me prevent Samuel from dying, we could take a good look at the mess in the room. Doctor Webb was dead in his chair, from what I could diagnose as a heart attack. Another body (Clem Tailor) was in an interesting condition; half ash and covered with signs of self dislocation. The other thing of note in the room was a large, lead lined coffer, trough shaped with small clawed feet, and around the rim coated in a similar odd smelling wax to that which we had found in the study. 

With little to go on regarding the state of the room, other than Billy swearing up and down he had found it this way (to my disbelief), I looked through the pockets of Clem Tailor for any inclination for why he was there, considering we were here about a break in, not a murder. He had a crude sack mask (suggesting he was one of the burglars), a single dollar bill, a gas coupon, and a folded photo of the waitress from the truck stop, Mary. This made us decide to return to the truck stop to see if she were in danger, as after we properly looked through the leather journal of Webb, it was discovered that whatever was kept in this coffer, this 'Sin-Eater' was loose and likely to kill again soon. Emilia and I went into the Cellar briefly, where which there was an electrical generator. Returning upstairs, the bright blinding light was back, squeezing through the cracks in the front door. While the majority of us managed to make an escape out of the Reception window, the young man Billy was caught by this entity, burned into a pile of ash.

When we returned to the truck stop, my questioning of Mary went worse than expected. I first questioned if she had been pregnant before, she answered no, and at a push she admitted that Billy and Clem were supposed to rob the Doctor so they could get the money to leave town. When she did not like the suggestion they had gotten people killed, she shot me from beneath the table. Doctor Davy also got shot before we could get her pinned to the floor and verbally subdued. I reminded her a creature was loose killing people, and she was convinced to sit quietly until the ordeal was over (She is now with Arkham Police for attempted murder).

We came to the conclusion that the way to deal with the creature was to destroy it using electricity, as it had been noted that during our escape from it, a strike of lightning had caused it to run away. Doctor Davy suggested we use the generator in Greenapple's cellar to create a Faraday Cage with chicken wire. The plan was sound, the cage created and ready to electrocute the creature, however we encountered resistance as it enthralled us repeatedly, however there was always at least one of us coherent at a time, and we managed to get it into the cage and destroy it.

The coffer it had been housed in I sealed with the odd smelling wax and bound in prayer, cloth and twine. It has since been passed to Father Thomas, along with the Lurker Sarcophagus, and both I have been assured are somewhere safe on holy ground where nobody can abuse their use again.

My recovery from the gunshot was eased with the first aid I had been able to administer to myself in the field, and the swift healing hands of the Sisters at Saint Mary's in Arkham.

* * *

The Creature we have come to know as the Sin-Eater had an aversion to electricity, which I believe comes from its unholy fear of lightning - God's divine wrath on Earth. It was used to devour the unwanted child, or could be set upon specific victims using a certain ritual and the caster's blood. The notes detailing these rituals is in the possession of Father Thomas, secured with the coffer. May we never encounter these lights of death again.


	2. Blackwater Creek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An account of the third encounter with creatures of the infernal variety, with the haunting events in Blackwater Creek, Massachusetts

As of the writing of this passage, those travelling in my company are Doctor Davy of the Chemistry department of Miskatonic University, and our companion, Mister Clifford Underwood of Arkham, who was still in Ross's Corners, Massachusetts to help with the repair of our new property, and was thus not present for the Mother incident.

Mister Elliot Samuel of the Archaeology department of Miskatonic University was killed in the following excursion, subject to insanity and apotheosis. No body was able to be recovered, but he has a placeholder grave in Arkham Cemetery in case any may be recovered in the future, and so that those who knew him may pay their respects. 

* * *

The excursion began with a letter being given to Mister Elliot Samuel by Professor Earnest McTavish of the Archaeology department of Miskatonic University. The letter, addressed to McTavish, was from Professor Henry Roades, about his travel with his wife and students to a dig-site in Cade's Rest, now known as Blackwater Creek. Roades was apologising for his impending late return to Arkham, something at the site was keeping them, past having sent their three student assistants - Agnes, Clarence and Walt - home to Arkham. Mister Samuel was asked to gather those he believed would be helpful in searching for Henry and his Wife, who had now been missing for four months. Samuel retrieved Doctor Davy from the Investigation House, then came by the Sisters of Saint Raphael to retrieve me (I am told that they encountered Father Thomas while waiting for me, and he requested they bring me back in one piece, which, to their credit, I was). We packed our bags and weapons into Cliff's car, they keys of which still remain in my possession while he is in Ross's Corners, and I retrieved the odd book that had appeared in the glove compartment post our return to Arkham (It had given Samuel unsettling visions, and I since know this to be of a general of Lucifer called Leviathan, whom I too have now seen I now also know the book to be called the Shard of Leviathan Tome III), before we began our investigation, staring in Miskatonic itself, with the first two students of the Roades.

The first student, Agnes Soames, we sent Samuel and Davy to, to see what she knew. Samuel described her to me as a very nervous woman with a constantly clenched jaw and a fearful glare. She could not recall a lot about their time in Blackwater, other than the two 'factions' of farmers; the Jarveys and the Carmodys. The Jarveys were lovely, Mrs Jarvey known for her apple pie, and they allowed the researchers to shelter with them during the time they were there. The Carmodys, however, were angry and antagonistic towards the expedition. She could not add more.

The second student, Clarence Welliver, was distracted and distant to talk to, constantly looking out the window. The only details he could add were that on the last day of the students being in Blackwater Creek, Professor Roades took dynamite with him, refusing to tell the students any details as to why, and dismissed them back to Arkham.

The third student, Walt Rerig, was the most interesting to talk to. His home was uncared for, he himself looking very unwell, and his eyes were constantly drawn to staircase. He would have us believe that his mother was unwell, upstairs, however I felt something was off due to the sheer amount of books scattered around about interpreting dreams and nightmares, as if he were trying to understand his own mind, or process something that had happened to himself. I asked, due to my medical training, if I could go check on his mother to see if I could help, and Rerig's eyes glazed over; the lights were on and nobody was home, so I headed up to the bedroom he suggested his mother had been in.

It was empty. The entire house was void of a woman's touch and while some things such as towels were put out in two lots, there was only one toothbrush, only a man's clothes, and an empty room where his mother should have been. My search lead me to a death certificate; his mother's death certificate, that dated her passing as when Rerig was but a boy. This confirmed to me that something had happened to him, that something had sent his mind reeling backwards, and I had a feeling it was something to do with Cade's Rest. 

We had to go to Blackwater Creek.

* * *

The road to Blackwater Creek was dreary and overcast, and there was a general sense of unease on the journey. We encountered a man on the road, calling himself Merrit, a vet from Dunwich, beating a retreat from Blackwater. He suggested we ask the Jarvey Farmers if we may stay with them, and also recommended we ask widow Hawkins, a god-fearing woman that may put us up. He expressed concerns about an unknown infection in town crippling the livestock, making them infertile half-pregnant and vicious towards their farmers. He hoped it would remain contained in the town.

We also encountered a vagabond living by the side of the road further down, one Hector Winney, who, in return for some of Doctor Davy's whiskey (Which I reminded him was horrifically illegal now he was living here in the States and not in Ireland), he told us that we should avoid anything made by the Carmody brothers, and warned us that the previous priest, the now Sheriff Sprouston, had been banging on about his mother instead of God in the final days of his priesthood.

When we arrived in the town proper, my first point of call was the Church, with a hope of introducing myself to the local priest. However it was obvious by the crumbling of the church that after Sprouston, nobody had taken up the role of local shepherd, and the pews were stained with a weird black pus that I wanted nothing to do with. I would hope when I return to Arkham, that Father Thomas may be able to find someone to send to Blackwater, to bring the light back to such a dark place, and act as a guardian should these event start occurring again.

We decided to head to widow Hawkin's house next, but the sight that greeted us caused the nervous gnawing at the back of my mind to worsen. The house had been forced into, and there were bloodstains and signs of a fight. I've seen enough blood to know that this was old, and that widow Hawkins was likely taken a while ago. Things were not looking to be going well, and it was becoming more and more apparent that this line of work we had found ourselves becoming a part of was more intertwined with the legions of Hell than even I had anticipated. 

With a deepset dread, we made our way up to the Jarvey farm, where we could see Mister Jarvey preparing a bonfire, and Mrs Jarvey sat on the porch. Mrs Jarvey was happy to let us stay, allocating the spare room to myself for my modesty, and letting the gentlemen sleep in the barn. While they went to place their things in their accommodation, I talked to Mr Jarvey about the swine he was building the bonfire around. He was happy to let me investigate the symptoms of the disease; horrid black pustules that popped and oozed. When he mentioned they never went into town, I asked what could be shared between them and the town that could have spread this illness this far. His only suggestion was the Dam up river, which gave us an idea of where we needed to investigate past the Dig-site. 

With daylight fading fast, we settled in for the night, and with the privacy allowed, I decided to try and take notes in the notebook we found in Cliff's car. However no ink would remain on the page, it being absorbed somehow by the paper. I tried writing the Lord's prayer, but could not physically bring myself to do so. However the Exorcism by Nyarlathotep and Azathoth (Whom I still struggle to find reference of anywhere) that we had used against the Lurker, that stayed on the page. With a spike of curiosity, I wrote 'Hello' onto the back page. 

I did get a response, but it was carved into my arm by some unseen force, a simple, badly written 'Hello' in return. I asked who I was talking to and ended up with a jumble of random sigils in my arm, and a horrid vision of some squid-whale creature with too many eyes, underwater and lit by some horrific, unholy green light. The book became too hot to touch and I threw it into my bag for the night, to a fitful and anxious sleep. 

When morning eventually came, we decided to see what information we could get in town, having yet to see the Sheriff. Mrs Jarvey assured us that as soon as he caught wind that we were sniffing about that he'd come and say hello. 

We made our way to Baxter's General Goods, as I wanted to send a letter to Father Thomas to inform him about the unsettling book in case something happened while we were out here. The Gentleman manning the till (presumably Baxter), was willing to tell us about the Sheriff. He reiterated that Sprouston used to be the priest in this town, before he began preaching about the Mother in the Hills, drifting from the Lord and bringing some unearthly presence to the town. He grew reluctant to talk further when the Sheriff entered the store to talk to us. 

I mentioned that I wanted to help with the disease, and he seemed to try and dissuade me from the idea, before mentioning there was a problem we could clear up for him instead; Bootleggers up at the Carmody farm. While I was suspicious of the Sheriff, we agreed to look into the matter and left for the Carmody farm, the neighbour to the Jarveys, and the Brothers we had been warned about from the start. 

* * *

Up at the Carmody Farm, there was an instant feeling of wrongness. Not just from the men watching us from the workyard, but the whispers of footfall in the corn. Damien Carmody, one of the brothers, approached us and asked our reasons for being on their property. Wetried convincing them to take their troubles elsewhere, and if we could talk to the head of the family. Damien assured us he would be there soon, and the unsettling presence came to a boil as mice, snakes and rats burst forth from the corn, followed by a writhing mass of tentacle-like roots and pustules, a goats hoof for one hand, a claw for the other, the viscous remnant of Brendan Carmody. Rats swarmed me, dragging me to the ground, clawing and biting as the others fought Brendan; while the other workers didn't even react to the brawl. 

When the creature was finally put down, and the vermin run off, the remaining Carmodys agreed to leave, disappearing into the corn to leave the State, leaving us free to search the farm for the distillery equipment they were using to make their whiskey. Doctor Davy found it in the barn, along with barrels of whiskey that smelled like rotting fruit, sickly sweet and nauseating. 

Inside the farmhouse we found spores and moulds, roots overtaking the building, and the corpse of James Carmody, the father. As if he were breathing, the growths inside his chest cavity expanding and growing. Finding myself nauseated, I left the building, and heard a commotion from a cellar entrance. Breaking the lock, I entered, and found what appeared to have once been Professor Roades, his missing leg now grown back, and the same horrid growths sprouting from him and almost filling the room. His mind was gone, eyes empty, and the only sounds low groaning. I took it upon myself to ease his passing, and Doctor Davy set the whole farmhouse aflame, not before I could retrieve Roade's journal from him. 

Our next course of action was to reach Roade's camp, since his notes suggested a cave in Cade's Rest was the source of the sicknesses. 

The camp looked like it had been hit by a tornado, visual evidence of the Carmodys' capture of Roades, and it appeared to have been vacant for a few months. However, we were able to find the expedition notes. They mentioned a tribe known as the Sicaiook, or the Children of the Black Earth. They were rumoured to be ruled over by a council of Elders, that lived in the cave above where the Dam is, bringing gifts of healing that made the Sicaiook immune to mortal wounds. They were referred to as the Brothers to the snakes and to the vermin of the fields, which lead us to believe they were afflicted with whatever happened to the Carmodys. More modern myths of the Elders Cave read as there being a council of demons in there, or even the Devil himself. 

We had no other choice but to ascend to the cave. At this point, my head was beginning to swim, and I was losing track of myself, but I had Doctor Davy help me fill in what I was unable to recall. Mister Samuel was also beginning to act odd.

* * *

The flora around the cave mouth were wild and taller than a man, and the pollen of the wildflowers looked like the black pus found on the infected. The sweet smell of corruption hung heavy in the air, like a smog. The mouth of the cave itself would require us to climb up a slippery, wet wall of rock, and just below it was the box of dynamite Roades had taken from the camp, which Doctor Davy took under arm.

I remember having no problem scaling the wall, while Davy and Samuel kept hitting the wet spots and slipping, Samuel in particular getting entirely soaked in the cavewater. However we were able to get into the warm, wet cave eventually. The walls were lined by what could only be described as human flesh and organs, eyes and mouths appearing the further in we went, until we discovered the flesh creature that was The Mother (The name we have associated with it to not invoke its other name, due to the Sheriff, Roades and Samuel himself referring to it as mother). Each face making up the flesh of this creature was that of Abigail Roades.

We knew we had to blow it up, but the tentacles of this creature snatched myself and Samuel up while Davy was preparing the dynamite, and this ultimately sent Samuel over the edge, he squealing for his mother, and slowly becoming the same abomination Brendan Carmody was, being absorbed by The Mother. Davy was able to free me and light the dynamite, we managing to get out of the cave just as it blew, I myself being knocked unconscious, the name 'The Black Goat with 1000 young' echoing in my mind.

Doctor Davy brought me back to Saint Raphael's, taking me to Father Thomas to explain the situation and get me medical attention for my injuries. While I recovered, I felt the touch of what felt divine in my mind, purging the taint from the odd book I had read from my mind, and have since discovered it to be Saint Michael. It felt like a blessing, like he was preparing me for something.

When I awoke, I was able to commune with the book without it carving into my arm, instead the responses turning up on the pages. He revealed himself to me as a Priest of Leviathan (Whom Father Thomas has told me is a General of Satan), and his plan for me was to get me to help releasing his deity. I feel this is what Saint Michael was shielding me from, this dark influence, so his sugared words would have no effect on me. The book revealed to me arcane knowledge, to commune without words, and something to do with a creature made of eyes and tentacles, but this held no damage to me.

Returning to Father Thomas able to move without assistance felt like a heaven send. While we talked, he took my hand and with what could only be a holy light, purged the remaining taint from The Mother from my system, making my soul sing. He expressed a concern for his son, Father Thomas Junior of the Salem Parish, as he too fought the creatures we do, but with their own eldritch spells and tricks, something Father Thomas Senior was thoroughly against. 

I sent word to Junior to see what he might know about these books, and prepared myself to sleep for a week.

* * *

Mister Samuel's cenotaph resides in Arkham. It is unfortunate very few will know the creatures he faced with us, and his bravery in the face of them, but he will at least be remembered as a cheerful young man with a head full of dreams. His death has been obituarily stated as a brief struggle with illness and a peaceful end, for the sake of his family and friends.


End file.
